TRAILERS
Official Trailer for Documentary 'The Letter' About A Kenyan Family
by Alex Billington
October 16, 2020
Source: Vimeo
"I don't know where all the bad blood came from…" Circle & Square Films has released a promo trailer for The Letter, a doc from Kenya that is screening at film festivals this fall. This originally premiered at the IDFA Doc Festival last year, and is still looking for a release - but this trailer is to bring attention to its next fest stops (DOC NYC; Denver, Tallgrass, Sante Fe Film Festivals). A Kenyan family drama of Shakespearean proportions, The Letter is a tribute to the fearless spirit of 94-year old Margaret Kamango. Filmed with a gentle pace and incredible closeness, it is an intimate family portrait that ascends into a dramatic climax. Karisa's city-life is interrupted when his Grandma back home is called a witch and receives a death threat. Returning to his rural village to investigate, he finds a frenzied mixture of consumerism and Christianity is turning hundreds of families against their elders, but her grandson Karisa and others soon rally around her.
Here's the official promo trailer for Maia Lekow & Chris King's doc The Letter, direct from Vimeo:
Filmed with a gentle pace and incredible closeness, The Letter is an intimate family portrait that reveals an indestructible female power. The universal theme of how land is divided when an elder dies, devolves into a chaotic mixture of past traditions with the more recent imposition of Western values and religion. The resilience of family and community shines above all else, despite the growing threat of greed and inter-generational alienation. The Letter is co-directed by Kenyan filmmakers Maia Lekow (a musician making her feature directorial debut) & Christopher King (artist / cinematographer / editor making his feature directorial debut). This originally premiered at the IDFA Film Festival last year, and it next plays at DOC NYC this year. No release date has been set yet - stay tuned for updates. Visit the film's official website.
1 Comment
1
As far as I know that can be quite usual practice in some parts of Africa, to call women or even little girls the withces and then condemn them for something they are not guilty. I agree, the colonialism has left its traces. This part of the world won't have better perspective for a long time ...
shiboleth on Oct 16, 2020
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